Black Mesa spent a lot of time developing Xen, famously spending most of the 2010s trying to complete the original version's controversial final chapter in the Half-Life overhaul, and you can follow in their footsteps with the official workshop mod "Xen Museum" You can follow in their footsteps with the official workshop mod "Xen Museum.

Containing over 56 maps and surrounding a Jurassic Park-style main lobby, Xen Museum traces over five years of experimentation and iteration in Half-Life's border world. While the hub itself houses unused and undisclosed assets, the real exhibits are located in the museum's three wings.

Divided into hubs representing the three chapters of Xen (Xen, Gonarch, and Interloper), the museum has dozens of maps in progress representing various stages of development, each with its own secrets. Each level has multiple editions, allowing visitors to roam through Xen, from the barren and toxic green wasteland to the overgrown and interdimensionally thriving dimension where Xen eventually ended up.

"We hope you enjoy this fun and interactive tour of our intense and challenging five years of development," the Black Mesa team wrote on Steam. We thought it was a really cool and unique way to showcase how the game has developed and evolved over time." We had never seen anything like it and hope you guys enjoy playing this game as much as we did making it!"

A fitting way to conclude a mod that has been a constant in the Half-Life community for over 15 years. Last November, the Crowbar Collective finally came to an end with Black Mesa's 1.5 "Definitive Edition" update, but other modders have already begun using its foundation to remaster the Half-Life expansion Blue Shift.